Chapter Twenty

I made it to Mercury Avenue fifteen minutes to eight, scanning the restaurants for the one that Lea had described. I had a feeling I knew which one she was talking about considering Raven was also a huge fan of Japanese food and we tended to go out to a lot of the Japanese restaurants here.

Sure enough, I spotted a small restaurant on the corner with neon pink Japanese characters spelling out the name, and beneath it was the English translation. I could already smell the soy sauce, fresh vegetables, and clean crisp scent of sushi.

I approached the restaurant and paused to stare up at the building for a moment, considering going on ahead inside to reserve a booth considering we were a big group, but the thought barely crossed my mind when the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, goose bumps creeping across my flesh. I narrowed my eyes and cocked my head, sensing someone's eyes watching me. Just to make sure it wasn't just my being paranoid, I turned around the corner past the restaurant and walked another block.

The feeling followed me as I made my way down the sidewalk.

I kept close to the buildings before stepping off into an alley, pausing with a frown to face the street, watching a few people walk by, but no one seemed to notice me standing there. I waited another moment and started to come back out when I felt the air stir behind me and I whirled around, going absolutely still at the sight of Drak standing there in the alley behind me, pinning me with a menacing glare.

He definitely looked different from the last time I saw him. His once flawless face was now marred with several long scars made by claws... and considering the last time I saw him, I could only guess the merpeople had done their best to try and kill him. I wasn't sure I wanted to think about what had become of them for attacking him.

"You look much better, hybrid," Drak greeted venomously, "Especially wearing such nice clothing." I clenched my teeth and glared at him.

"You're stupid if you think I'm not going to attack you." I threatened. Drak lifted an eyebrow slowly, skeptically before his mouth twitched, like he was trying to smile, but was unable to. That made me horribly uneasy as I watched him take a step forward and I started to take one back, only to smack into an invisible forcefield, allowing me nowhere to go... so Drak could walk right up to me and get in my face, invading my personal space.

"I don't think attacking me would be a good idea," Drak warned, reaching up to touch my face, but I smacked his hand back and this time, he smirked as if he amused, "See, it's awfully suspicious that I was able to get into the realm without being officially invited, and you're the only one who's gotten past the barrier in the past twenty-four hours... And your destiny is also to become Atlan's pet."

"You honestly think people will believe that bullshit?" I demanded. Drak nodded, then tilted his head to pin me with a stare.

"You may think you have these people convinced you're a good person, but you don't. I see the way they watch you. They're suspicious. They can't really tell where your loyalties lie."

"That's garbage."

"Convince yourself of that all you want," Drak responded coolly, hooking his thumbs in his pockets, "Honestly, I pity you. The more you fight us, the more you'll want to come to us, because you'll have to rely on the monster inside you to protect that false master of yours and your mother and the rest of the traitors, and we both know you can't control the monster for very long. Once it consumes you, you'll be as much a danger to them as you are to the rest of the world." I bared my fangs at him and shoved him back, making him stumble for a moment before he caught his balance.

"Don't tell me what or who I am. Akin trusts me."

"Does he?" Drak challenged. I started to argue, then paused when I suddenly heard Hades's words in the back of my mind.

Looks like he doesn't trust you not to come here. Hades was a mind-reader, literally. Could he read Akin's mind? I wouldn't put it past him to tell me the brutal truth just to watch me squirm... or to lie for the same result. I wasn't sure what to do as I stood there, trying to grab that confidence I had earlier.

"Poor hybrid," Drak drawled, snapping me back so I could glare at him as he drew closer, "You really do have no one. You'll sit there in that crowded restaurant, trying to pretend to be normal like everyone else, but in the end, you're nothing like them. You're a wolf among sheep and sooner or later, cute little sushi rolls won't be enough to sate your hunger. The flock will be all too tempting." A chill crept through me as his words reminded me of the nightmare I'd had on the Ferry.

The one where I was standing in a field of bodies, from friend to foe, laying in bloody heaps at my feet, and all because of me. Atlan's cold hands on my shoulders and his mouth against my ear, coaxing me to let the burning hot monster inside me resurface. Xiphrus's fangs sinking into my lips and Arikos's bloody tears as he leaned in close. My stomach churned and I suddenly lost my appetite as my heart pounded so hard, I swore I was going to puke it up.

"Why are you here?" I asked after a moment, trying to fight the anxiety burning its way through my system. Drak gave me a cold stare.

"To watch you, hybrid. You may think you've escaped me, and you may be at the line where you choose our side, or theirs... But one wrong step and I can and will do more than kill your precious sheep," He threatened in a low voice, making me clench my teeth as he drew in close to grab my jaw, jerking me down to his level, "I'll take that precious master of yours and make him scream as I violate every part of him with a white hot poker. Do you understand me?" His threat made me see red and I snarled, moving to attack him, but he vanished in an abrupt column of smoke, leaving me standing alone in the alley.

I looked around quickly, then glanced out at the street, but no one seemed to had noticed his presence. I swallowed with sudden trepidation, then remembered the pills Hades had given me. I buried my hand in my pocket and withdrew all the ones I'd taken from the bottle, taking them quickly and closing my eyes, willing the pills to work faster.

I took deep breathes to try and calm myself, but it was hard.

Drak was in Hell. And the fact that he knew to come here meant he'd been following me since I first got here, but how? I hadn't used teleportation to get in here... Unless he somehow attached himself to me? Was that possible? Could he have stepped through the portal after me and followed me from there? I had no idea and the more I tried to think about it, the more anxious I got and I regretted not bringing the whole damn bottle of pills with me.

Drak was too close, way too close, for comfort. He was right; he could hurt Akin before I had time to react. Akin was strong and I had confidence in him, but Drak didn't play fair. He played dirty and he played to win. If he went up against Akin, he'd destroy him and the thought of that tore at my heartstrings until I felt like they were all snapping to pieces. My chest started to hurt and I reached up to rub at it, squeezing my eyes shut.

Calm down. He won't be stupid enough to attack with Hades here.

No, but even Hades might not stand a chance against Drak. Drak was slimy. And I had no doubt in my mind that Hades was on their capture alive list. Hades had bundles of information in that head of his, how to create artificials being one of them. It was why Rhea had been desperate to get her hands on him during the last war; Hades could create an entire army. If Atlan had that kind of power...

I think I'm gonna puke.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat and leaned against the back of the building, closing my eyes and tilting my head up as I waited until I could feel the light-weight sensation of the pills finally doing their job. I was definitely getting high on the medication and gave me a tingling sensation of nostalgia that almost made me smile.

It reminded me of the drugs my brothers had forced down my throat to subdue my rampages...

A sudden giddiness hit me.

Drak seemed to be so sure that I would snap and attack everyone around me, but he had no idea what Iapetus and my brothers had done to try and curb my rampages. If I could stay on the medication Hades gave me, there was no way I could snap and hurt anyone. And once the time came to battle Atlan, I could go off the medication, then jump back on it afterwards. The idea of detoxing didn't even occur to me. I was too blinded by a sudden delirious relief that I wished I could laugh, but could only manage a long gasp of relief.

I pushed off the wall behind me and went back around to the front of the building, entering through the black tinted doors to reserve a booth for our group. The tiny waitress who barely reached my chest led me from the from podium to a large corner booth in the back that allowed us privacy thanks to a large pull out Japanese screen that was heavily decorated with twirling pink cherry blossoms from spindly tree branches. It was oddly enchanting as I took my place at the low set table, sitting with my legs crossed as opposed to sitting on my knees.

No more than a few minutes later, I could hear the sound of Lea and Akin chattering and Dorean's laughter. I peered past the screen to see them approaching the table with the waitress leading the way and Xenon bringing up the rear, looking less than enthused about their conversation.

"Hey, baby!" Akin greeted exuberantly, coming over to take his seat beside me, and he placed a kiss on my cheek that made my skin tingle. I would've kissed him back, but there was a strange tugging inside me that told me not to. I didn't want Akin to find out I was high.

The idea of seeing disappointment on his face cut me to the quick. So I just gave him a quick nod and he smiled, reaching up to brush his fingers through my hair, tucking a lock of it behind my ear. His touch burned me and my cock twitched to life.

Wow, thanks, anatomy. I appreciate this.

Akin leaned in to kiss me on the cheek again.

"Did your appointment with Hades go well? He called and told me you went and he gave you some medication." He added, looking curious. I debated how to answer that. Akin knew about my past darkness with drugs and what Hades gave me was an obviously controlled substance. So against the burning sensation on my tongue that I was lying to the only person who gave a shit about me, I forced a placid stare.

"It was fine. Just something to keep the pain at bay." I responded briefly. Akin smiled.

"That's good," He said, brushing my hair again, "You look a little out of it, though. Are you all right?"

"Just really tired." I replied.

"He did just come back from Atlantis this morning," Xenon said dryly, making Akin roll his eyes, "He's probably exhausted. Are you sure coming out tonight was such a good idea?" I nodded.

"It's fine. I'm fine." I replied. Xenon gave me a suspicious stare that I avoided by looking at Akin reassuringly and he gave me a curious stare for another moment before Lea cleared her throat and I looked at her as she sat on my other side, flashing me a smile. I wondered briefly if my smile would be similar to hers if I knew how to smile that well. My smiles were more like faint grimaces. Thinking about it I was tempted to start messing with my face, but I had some semblance of understanding the world around me despite the haze from the medication.

"Good to hear it, sweetie," She said, "And thanks for grabbing us a booth. I was about ready to think we'd never get out of that shop." Dorean gave her a droll stare, his arms folded over his chest.

"Only because you and Akin wouldn't put the clothes down." He reminded. Lea feigned a miffed expression and Akin laughed.

"Yeah, but it was so nice! I've never felt material like that before."

"And I would've bought it too if they had my size," Lea scoffed, making Akin nod in agreement, "Are you kidding me with those sizes now? Sizes zero through ten, but no twelves? And why is everything so short? Why are people so short? Back in my day, I rarely met a person who was in this five foot range. You people have gotten so tiny." Dorean blinked innocently.

"Imps don't get bigger than six foot. That'd be weird. We're tiny peoples." He replied defensively.

"But you get all the clothes." Akin reminded. Dorean beamed.

"I do."

"Can't you guys just adjust the sizes?" Xenon asked dryly.

"It can ruin the material," Lea said, shaking her head, "Spells aren't always perfect, you know. Which brings me to wonder how Hades can find any clothes. The man is fucking gigantic, and as a woman over six foot, that is sayin' something. He's got to be at least seven feet tall. I'm more than positive Lucifer had to adjust the doorways in his house to accommodate the size of that guy. I mean, wowza! Lucifer's so lucky to have such a tall man. It's so hard to find a man taller than me. But Hades gives me hope." Xenon laughed and I wrinkled my nose.

"Hades and hope in the same sentence? Yeah, that's laughable."

"Ditto." I agreed.

"Ditto?" Akin asked, raising an eyebrow. I shrugged, rubbing at the back of my neck uneasily at the slip-up. That wasn't part of my normal vocabulary and it was taking everything I had not to speak out loud about the stupidity of someone praising Hades. I wasn't going to forgive the asshole for pinning me down to try and give me a physical. And no amount of prescription medication was going to make me forgive him.

"Oh, come on," Lea complained, "What am I missing here? Why does everyone hate Hades so much? He seems like such a big teddy bear." This time, everyone at the table made some kind of noise of disagreement, including Dorean, who wasn't normally the type to judge someone.

"Lea, you have a lot to learn," Akin assured before Lea could protest our objections, "Don't get me wrong, Hades has his moments, but he's like.... like pickled pigs feet. An acquired taste that could take several decades to adjust to, and right when you think you've understood him, he does something impossibly stupid or rude."

"I don't like to judge people," Dorean said, confirming my earlier thought, "But there is something about Hades that makes it hard to stand him for more than a few minutes... Or it might just be the fact that he threatened to hurt me if Xenon didn't take care of his son." Lea arched a brow and Xenon scoffed.

"Or the time he called all his sons "prototypes"."

"Or the time he ignored the Titan threat." Akin chirped.

"Or the time he imprisoned me for a year or two." I agreed dryly.

"Or the time he destroyed an entire city block and killed twenty people." Xenon threw in. Dorean wrinkled his nose.

"Yeah, but he built a hospital to help people with that."

"Which justifies killing those people?"

"Don't put words in my mouth, kitty. I mean, Hades didn't know about the people. They weren't registered, so that was kind of their fault. But I do agree that he needs to be more careful."

"Are you guys just gonna sit here all night and list reasons why Hades is so bad? What about the reasons he's good? Like the hospital comment." Lea offered. Dorean shrugged.

"It's like Akin said; Hades has his moments. He risked everything to save the universe, even after it kicked him in the face. And even though he has trouble showing it, he does love his sons lots and lots. I seen him and Niki says he seen him be super nice to his sons sometimes. I think he just been kicked more times than he could stand and it's hard for him to be nice." He explained after a moment and Akin shrugged.

"I suppose so. I mean, lately he hasn't done anything too awful. He's honestly been pretty tame since he and Lucifer got together, but I think that's only because now when Hades gets pissy, he takes it out on Lucifer. That's one relationship that, while oddly adorable, also confuses me." He admitted. Xenon snorted.

"This coming from a man who gave his husband a dog collar for a wedding present." He said flatly. Akin glared.

"Yeah, but he looked super sexy in it. It's not my fault you're a close-minded bigot."

"Jeez, Akin. Just because I don't get the whole my husband is also my dog thing doesn't mean I'm a bigot."

"Oh no?" Akin challenged. Xenon made a noise of distress and looked at me.

"Back me up here, come on. There has to be something about the relationship that bothers you." He insisted. I stared back at him and before I could stop myself, I barked and Dorean laughed. Akin looked at me oddly, but still seemed amused by my response and Xenon rolled his eyes. Lea wrinkled her nose.

"It is going to take some getting used to," She admitted, reaching over to cover my hand with hers, making me look down at the alien gesture, "In my day, we didn't have relationships like that. Most of the time relationships were pretty straight forward. Play wasn't too... playful. At least, not in my opinion. Then again, I was supposed to be a virgin goddess." As if suddenly uncomfortable, she removed her hand from me and tucked it into her lap, her features pinched for a moment. I frowned, confused by that until I remembered.

"Iapetus." I said without thinking.

"Hannibal!" Akin scolded and smacked his hand against my butt, making me wince inwardly. Lea smiled.

"It's all right, Akin," She replied, then looked at me, and there was a strange glint in her eyes, "Yes, Iapetus... Let's just say, since then, men, while attractive, are also the worst." I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't trust myself not to say something stupid, or worse, reveal that her own son was one of those "worst" men. A sick feeling twisted my gut and I felt like I was going to puke again, but I swallowed it back as the waitress returned to take our order.

I played it safe and remained mostly silent throughout the dinner conversations. I planned what I was going to say ahead of time, so when someone asked me about Atlantis, I already had an answer to give them. Usually brief and vague, things about being forced to fight the Atlanteans in the arena, but no mentions of what happened when I lost, nothing about Drak or Atlan tricking me into killing Arikos... nothing really on Arikos. Everyone else seemed intent to hate Arikos for his betraying me, but I didn't hate him.

If anything, thinking about him was painful. He was dead, and worse, his soul was still trapped in the same place he was trapped in during his life. It succeeded in ridding me of my appetite, so I merely sat in silence, watching everyone else eat and interact like normal people.

Drak's words rang in my ears about sitting with sheep while being a wolf, and it made my chest hurt. I fished around in my pockets for more pills, but there were only two more. I snuck them into my mouth with a glass of water, but still couldn't bring myself to really eat.

"Honey, are you okay?" Akin asked me quietly. I nodded.

"You're not eating." He pointed out. I looked down at the food, how strangely the colors had gotten in the sushi and the meat and rice. The greens were brighter suddenly and the blues more muted, the reds dulled to more like shades of orange and pink. It was like someone had tinkered with the saturation levels or something. I reached out and picked up a sushi roll, popping it in my mouth. Akin didn't appear appeased by that and I debated eating another one, but I really didn't want to eat.

Chewing suddenly felt like too much work and swallowing was difficult.

Akin went back to the conversations, but I could tell he was worried and that stung. I didn't mean to make him worry. I was trying to act natural, but it seemed no matter what I did, I wasn't normal and I didn't feel like I belonged at the table. And I kept getting a prickling sensation on the back of my neck, making me look up to glance at the rest of the restaurant beyond the screen that separated us, waiting to see Drak sitting in the crowds, but I couldn't see well and everyone looked like they were watching me at this point.

I was relieved when dinner was over and we headed outside to the cool spring air. It was too cold for me, though. It reminded me of the catacombs at Xandria and I suddenly felt a strange wave of apprehension as we walked as a group back toward the palace. Even with Akin's hand squeezing mine the whole way back to the palace, I felt anxious and paranoid.

Any second I expected Drak to come out of nowhere, or Christ, let's even worry about Atlan showing up. If Drak could do it, why wouldn't Atlan? Or worse, maybe I didn't kill Zelus and he was coming back here to get me too, or Akin, or Lea, or Xenon and Dorean. For all I know, Drak and Drulius had been putting on a show for me, talking about Atlan attacking Hades, so all our forces went to protect Hades, when in reality, Atlan was going to launch his attack on Hell.

Calm the fuck down. You just need to take more medication.

I kept that thought in mind as we finally made it back to the palace and it took everything I had not to run to our room and throw back the whole bottle of medication.

"Well, I had a wonderful night," Lea said after she, Akin, and I were alone and Xenon and Dorean had gone off to their room, "I was glad to spend it with both of you, especially you, Hannibal. I hope we can do it again." I tried to feel the same joy she did, but I hadn't been able to enjoy the night at all. Everything made me nervous and I didn't want to slip up and say something that would make Lea hate me, and it only made me hate myself even more. So I just nodded and murmured a silent agreement.

I let her hug me again, and for a moment, I found myself not wanting to let go. I'd seen on the movies that people confided in their parents often and sought comfort from them, and I honestly wanted to spill everything I could to Lea and find that same kind of comfort from her, but a quick look into her eyes and I was brutally reminded why that wasn't possible.

I couldn't get that close to Lea. Only close enough to maintain a formal relationship, but nothing like Akin's relationship to Lucifer, or any other normal person.

If Lea found out what I really was, what I'd done and what happened to me, she wouldn't want to touch me anymore and while that should've relieved me, it felt more like a knife slicing into my chest.

"Good night, Lea." Akin said with a smile and she smiled back. They seemed to be getting along better. That was a relief.

Akin and I went down the hallway to our room and walked inside. I fought the urge to run to the dresser where my pills were.

"I'm going to fill up the bath," Akin said after a moment, frowning at me, "Just sit on the bed." His words suddenly seemed cold to me and I felt more like he'd smacked me than spoken to me. I didn't let it show on my face, though, as I nodded and went to the bed to sit down. Akin gave me one last stare before going to the bathroom. I waited a moment, hearing him turn the bathtub on before I got up and went to toss back a handful of pills before returning to the bed.

I sat there silently, obediently, listening to Akin work in the bathroom, probably pouring bubble bath into the water. I could already smell the sweet scent of it and the fresh bath water. Before I could stop myself, I was on my feet and drifting to the door to peer inside, watching Akin pull his shirt off over his head, setting it aside.

He picked up a couple of tubes from the counter and set them by the tub, then paused and turned to face the door.

"Hannibal, I know you're standing there." He said softly. Feeling guilty at breaking his command, I pushed the door open further to face him.

"Sorry, sir."

"It's all right," Akin said after a moment, then smiled, "I kind of wanted to surprise you. You seemed pretty glum earlier and it's got me worried. I was thinking maybe we can do something special tonight, huh? No toys." I thanked the gods I took the pills when I did. I didn't want Akin to get suspicious about what happened in Atlantis with my denial at his idea. The pills numbed my mind to the point where I just nodded and Akin beamed, looking pleased. Seeing the look on his face warmed me and I came inside to let him undress me, and we sank into the hot bathwater with fluffy bubbles tickling my skin.

Akin pulled me into the water so I was sitting in front of him on my knees and in his lap. He slid his hands up my back, leaving trails of bubbles and I closed my eyes, savoring the sudden sensitivity there. He dragged his fingertips over the based of my spine and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip, allowing a moan to slip past. Akin smiled and tilted his head up to nip playfully at my chin.

I gave him a purr and I could already feel his cock rubbing the inside of my thigh. I focused on the silky hardness of it against my skin, feeling my muscles twitch eagerly to take him in. I put my arms around him and pulled him close to me.

"I missed you, baby." Akin murmured in my ear before kissing me there. I blinked my eyes open to stare at the bubbles behind him, brushing my fingers over his soft flawless skin.

"I missed you too, master." I murmured. A strange twisting sensation started in my gut, but I quickly pushed it back, sensing the discomfort trying to resurface. The discomfort at having lied earlier, the discomfort at keeping things from him, pretending to be clean when I was really the dirtiest fucking thing in this whole damn building. Panic started to rise inside me and I tightened my grip on Akin, who gasped a little.

"Hannibal, are you all right?" He asked, voice concerned. I blinked hard, then shut my eyes, not trusting myself to look at anything.

"Yes, sir. I just really, really missed you." And that was the truth. I really did miss him. Having to wake up on Drak's cold floor was a nightmare. Having to fall asleep on that same floor... My arms twisted uncomfortably over my head, sitting in a knelt position all night long and waking up and forced to sit in the same position for the rest of the day, unless Drak decided otherwise.

Stop thinking about it.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Akin asked, pulling back to look up at me. I nodded, leaning in to kiss him instead of answering him. Akin seemed hesitant to accept my kiss at first, then reluctantly caved in and kissed me back hungrily. I focused on the expert glide of his tongue in every corner of my mouth before it crept out and trailed to my ear, dipping into the shell, his teeth scraping to my earlobe, suckling it before kissing softly at the space behind my ear, then down, down my throat.

Throat.

Arikos's throat was bitten in the same place Akin was suckling on. Arikos's throat had been so bloody. I'd completely torn out his artery and the blood, so fucking red, bubbled freely, squirting occasionally, as the blood left his face through the exit wound, and his eyelids fluttered before he collapsed to the floor at my feet.

You killed him.

An image of Akin's body from my nightmare flashed in front of me and I gasped sharply, snatching myself away from Akin, who hissed when I almost kneed his groin.

"Hannibal, what is going on?" He demanded. I panicked. I hadn't meant to get distracted. I was normally completely focused on Akin when he did these things to me, because no one else made me feel as good as Akin did. And right now, I desperately needed to feel that. I moved back slowly to where I was.

"Nothing, sir. Sorry, sir. Just... Just..." Just what? If I said nervous, he'd definitely push me away. If I said scared, he'd be upset. If I said distracted, he'd be offended. I didn't know how to finish that sentence, so I leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled his head back and pushed against my chest, glaring at me.

"Hannibal, stop. Get off me, right now." He commanded. My stomach contracted sharply at that and I panicked. Why didn't he want to kiss me? What did I do wrong? I was positive I didn't do anything wrong. Why was he looking at me like that? What did I do?

"I said I was sorry. Sir." I tacked on. Akin frowned.

"That's not what I want, Hannibal. I'm not angry. Look, let's just get out and talk, all right? There's something wrong and I kind of figured since dinner, but now it's just blatantly obvious. Come on, let's get out and you can tell me what's wrong." He said. His words only stirred my panic further and I tried to will the meds Hades gave me to work faster, better, but I think my metabolism was burning through them too quickly because I could already feel the returning anxiety pinching at my chest and constricting my throat and stomach.

"No," I insisted, trying not to show my impatience, "I'm fine. I'm okay. I said I was okay, so I'm okay, sir, really. Please can we just keep going?" Akin frowned further and that only hurt worse.

"No. I don't think that's a good idea, sweetie. Get up and go to the bedroom."

"I don't want to," I managed, "I'm fine. Please."

"Hannibal, get off me." Akin ordered firmly.. I could hear his heart pounding harder in his chest, and there was the pungent scent of fear wafting off him and it hurt. I didn't know what I was doing that was scaring him. What did I do? I was okay. I was fine. I can pretend nothing happened. I was really good at that.

"I don't want to," I repeated, making Akin blink at me in surprise, "I don't want to do anything else, but be here with you, please. Please, master, I just... I missed you, a lot." I kissed him quickly and waited to see if that worked, but it only seemed to scare him more and frustration welled up inside me.

What was I doing wrong? Did he want something else from me? What did he want? I tried to think about on all the things that made Akin happy. He already went shopping, so I couldn't do that. I had trouble thinking with the haze in my mind blocking out certain memories.

How ironic that my medication blocked out the good memories. Did Hades do it on purpose?

"Hannibal," Akin spoke more softly now, reaching up to take my jaw in his hand so I was forced to meet his eyes and my heart sank at his stern stare, "Get up. Now." His words felt like a knife in my heart.

I had no idea what I did, but I did something wrong. I did something really wrong. Akin never spoke to me like that before. I'd done plenty of stupid things before, but this had to be the worst, whatever it was. Akin looked like he was seriously going to punish me, and honestly, I would much rather he hit me than look at me like that... like I did something wrong.

Everything inside me wanted me to stay there and continue, but a quick image flashed in my mind of Abel laying on the floor of Cain's palace, blue eyes pleading and overflowing with tears, and my breath left me in a sharp gasp of panic.

I backed away from Akin and quickly got out of the tub, grabbing a towel and heading to the bedroom. My breathes came out in rapid succession as I looked around the room, barely hearing Akin say my name from the bathroom. I went to the bottle of pills sitting on the dresser, staring at the label, but the words were blurring and smudging together. It suddenly looked completely foreign.

Confused, I squinted at them, then in frustration threw them on the floor and snatched my towel off my waist to bury my face in it, trying to suffocate the anger and hurt exploding inside me.

Why doesn't Akin want me to touch him?

Because he knew there was something wrong with me.

You're a wolf among sheep, hybrid. Drak's voice in my head made me panic and look around the room quickly, trying to pinpoint if it was really in my head or if Drak was in the room with me. I scanned the room, barely noticing Akin walking out of the bathroom, wearing his black silk robe, brushing his wet hair back from his face.

"Hannibal? What are you doing? What're you looking for?" He demanded, moving toward me, but I quickly backed away from him, my skin crawling and burning at the thought of being touched again. I shook my head at him and went to the closet to look inside, shoving clothes aside to make sure no one was there.

I wasn't sure why I thought someone would be there. There couldn't be. There was no way into this room.

Just like there was no way into the realm through the barrier? My subconscious reminded me and I shuddered at that, rubbing at my arms at the sudden sensation of more hands sliding up and down my arms, of the shackles weighing down my wrists.

"We have to go," I decided after a moment of rapid breathing, emerging from the closet and watching Akin look at me, baffled, "We can't stay here. Atlan's going to come here." Akin's eyes widened.

"What? What makes you think that?" He asked in disbelief.

"Cuz he told me he'd be in Hades," I said, and when Akin looked at me in confusion, I tried to find the right words to express the rapid fire thoughts flashing through my head at once, "He said he was going to attack Hades, but he was lying. He's going to come here instead while everyone is gone and he's going to do something horrible and it's going to be all my fault and I won't be able to stop it because Atropos gave me to Iapetus like she wanted me to be Atlan's, even though the Source wants me to kill him and I have to do that because if I don't, Atlan's going to make me kill you and I can't do that. I can't do that, Akin! So we're leaving! That's what we have to do. We're going somewhere else. We can go to-t-to the mortal realm. We can go to the mortal realm and stay there forever. I don't mind moving. I don't care about moving. I move a lot anyway." Akin stared at me, like he wasn't understanding a single word I was saying and that frustrated even more.

"Why aren't you listening to me," I snapped in frustration, making Akin gasp and step back, "I always listen to you! Why can't you listen to me?" Was I yelling? It was hard to tell. There was a fierce buzzing in my ears that made everything sound... distorted.

"Hannibal, I don't understand a single word you're saying," Akin managed, and the pungent scent of his fear was only making me even more nervous, "You're not speaking English-- or Greek!" What the hell was he going on about? I was speaking loudly and clearly. Why wasn't he understanding me? Did he not want to understand? Is it because he wanted to stay here with Lucifer and his family?

"No," I insisted, answering my paranoia, "We can't stay here. Tell Lucifer and everyone else to leave too. If we stay here, Atlan's going to come and I'm going to kill everyone and I don't want to! I don't even want to kill Hades and Hades...! Hades knows everything! He does and that doesn't make sense... I don't know why. Maybe he's the one who let the Atlanteans in."

"What? Hannibal, you're only half making sense," Akin responded angrily now, "I literally cannot understand what you are saying. You're speaking Atlantean and I barely know the language! All I'm hearing is gibberish and something about Hades. Is it the medication he gave you?" My temper snapped at that.

Why would I ever speak Atlantean when I hated the language as much as I hated the people?

"I'm speaking English," I shouted, making Akin jump, "English! I'm telling you that he let the Atlanteans in! He's always hated me. He's doing it on purpose. He wants them to do things to me because he's mad about Abel! Is that why you won't touch me? Because of Abel? I thought you forgave me for that, or was that a lie?"

"Hannibal, stop," Akin snapped, making me stiffen at his tone, "I don't know what you're saying, but I caught Abel's name and I have a really strong feeling that I know what you're talking about. He has nothing to do with this. And you know what? Neither does Hades. I want you to shut up and sit down on the bed. I'm going to call Hades in here to figure out what's wrong... and Xenon so he can translate what you're saying, even though part of me is really glad I don't know what you're saying because you're yelling at me and, damn it, Hannibal, one of my rules is not to yell at me. Never yell at me." Anger whipped through me at that and my vision flashed from normal to red, then back again.

"You shut up!" I blurted and Akin tensed, blinking rapidly as if he was struggling to comprehend what I said before his expression twisted in anger.

"Excuse me?" He demanded. Oh, of course, that he understood.

"I said shut up," I repeated breathlessly, my chest tightening further with anxiety and anger, "Don't tell me to shut up! I'm trying to get you away from here, but you won't listen to me! You never listen to me! I always have to do the listening! I don't want to be your pet anymore!" Akin looked like I'd struck him.

"Hannibal... Y-you said it was okay when we first started dating," Akin said after a moment, his features pinched and his voice choked, "You said it was okay and that you liked it and you were okay with everything. We talked about this, multiple times--"

"I don't want to kill people," I snapped, making him look at me in confusion, "Stop trying to control me and make me hurt people! I don't want to!"

"What? Hannibal, I've never once asked you to hurt--"

"Yes, you did! Everyone did! If I don't, Drak is going to... And then me. I'm going to kill you and I don't want to!" I shouted, raking my hands through my hair. My chest hurt from breathing so hard. I felt like I was hyperventilating and I moved to get to the door to leave, but my knees buckled and I hit the floor, gasping sharply. Akin made a noise of distress and went to help me up, but the moment I felt his hands on my skin, it burned and I instantly felt Drak's hands pawing at me, his face sneering down at me. I snarled at him, baring my fangs and snatching myself back against the wall, making Akin freeze.

"Don't touch me! Get your hands off me!" I hissed at him. Tears sprang to Akin's eyes as he withdrew his hands slowly, and a small sob escaped his lips.

"Hannibal, please--"

"I'm tired of it! I'm tired of people touching me! Jesus Christ, just leave me alone!" I snarled. Akin covered his mouth, the tears pouring down his cheeks as he stared at me helplessly. He moved to the nightstand by the bed and I scowled, watching him grab his cell phone and dial a number. After a short pause, Akin started sobbing into the receiver.

"Hades, please, get my dad, please. I need your help-- Hannibal needs your help--"

"No," I protested angrily, scrambling to my feet and using the wall to try and keep myself standing, but Akin ignored me and continued to stammer into the phone, pleading for Hades to come, "Stop calling him! I don't want him anywhere near me!" The air rippled and I cursed, looking around frantically for an escape, but I could barely stand up and Hades was already appearing across the room with Lucifer right beside him, both looking bewildered.

"What the hell is going on?" Hades asked irritably, hands planted on his hips. Akin dropped the cell phone and tried to speak, but he just broke into a round of sobs and pointed helplessly at me. Panic and anger flsahed through me as I snatched the towel against me, eyeing Lucifer and Hades menacingly when they turned wide eyes on me.

"Hannibal, what are you doing?" Lucifer asked incredulously. I bared my fangs at him and growled.

"Get away from me! Stay back!" I snarled. Lucifer looked at Hades in confusion and Hades frowned.

"He's speaking Atlantean," He answered Lucifer's look, then Hades looked at me, "Hey. I may not speak your language fluently, but I know enough to know you're freaking out over nothing." I glared at him, flinging my hand out and sending a weak blast of power that barely ruffled Hades's clothes.

"Shut up! Fucking traitor!"

"Excuse me?" Hades demanded, looking more offended by my words than my pathetic attack.

"What's he saying?" Lucifer asked.

"He called me a traitor." Hades replied through clenched teeth. Apparently the accusation was extremely offensive to him and it only made sense if my assumption of him was correct and he really had told the Atlanteans to come here and get me. Hades always had a suicidal streak. This had to be it; he wanted the Atlanteans to make me kill everyone. It'd be extremely amusing to him since he hated me so much.

"Shut up," Hades commanded angrily, his eyes flashing, "Don't forget I'm cursed to be able to read those accusations going through your head. What the hell is wrong with you?" I bared my fangs at him and spat in his direction.

"Get out of my head! Get out! If you come anywhere near me, I'll rip your throat open," The words barely left my mouth before I gasped sharply, pressing myself tightly against the wall, "Like Arikos. I ripped... his throat open... there was so much blood and... I wanted to... No! No, it's Atlan! Atlan wants it and Atropos and Drak. Drak's here and he's going to go after Akin, he is! He threatened him if I didn't... Hades. Atlan is going to attack Hell. He said Hades, but he meant Hell."

"Okay, now I have no idea what he's saying," Hades said dryly, "He's speaking too fast and his dialect is too heavy and thick. Not to mention none of it sounds like a decent sentence. Akin, what happened?"

"I don't know," Akin managed between sobs, "He was acting weird all day and I wanted to make him feel better, so we were taking a bath and he just... he just started acting weird. He tried to get away from me at first, and then he was trying to kiss me and I told him no and he wouldn't stop--"

"What?" Lucifer demanded angrily, his eyes flashing from blue to red. His anger permeated the air and made it sizzle. My heart pounded at that and I felt like I was going to puke. That's right; Akin did say no and I didn't move away from him. I kept trying to kiss him and he told me no, but I wouldn't listen to him... What if I had done something more, something after that, and I don't remember it? What if...

A scream spilled past my lips as I shrank to the floor, covering my ears. Agony cut through me so harshly that it hurt worse than any blade in the world.

"Noo! No! I didn't...! I don't remember doing anything! I'm sorry! Akin, I'm sorry!" I choked helplessly, blinking rapidly as my vision burned and I felt something falling down my face, hot and wet. My body trembled violently and I felt like I was slowly falling apart from the inside out as my vision flashed from red to normal, red to normal.

"Shit," Hades cursed, moving toward me, "He's bleeding. Akin, I need your help--"

"No," Lucifer snapped, moving to block Akin when he took a step forward, and Hades glared at Lucifer in angry confusion, "I'll do it. I don't want Akin to go anywhere near him."

"No, dad--"

"Akin, enough. You will listen to me. I knew I made a mistake the moment I let him enter this realm and now I'm paying for that mistake." Lucifer seethed. Akin cried harder and tried to get past him again, but Lucifer threw his hand out and created a shield around Akin, forcing him to stay in his spot, slamming his fist against the shield. Lucifer turned back toward me, his eyes still flashing a menacing shade of red.

My stomach dropped and goose bumps prickled my skin, my breathing labored as I moved back against the wall. Panic rushed through me and every instinct in my body told me to make a run for it, but I couldn't find the strength in my legs to move me. Even worse, Hades was approaching me from my other side, so I was backed into a corner. My vision darkened as I looked around frantically for an exit.

Everything turned red for a moment and I panicked, blinking hard and covering my ears.

"Stop! Get away from me! I don't want to kill anyone!" I shouted, hoping Lucifer and Hades backed off, but I felt a strong grip on my arm trying to pull me up and I snapped, snarling at the assailant as my vision flashed to red and I snapped my fangs at the red figure grabbing me. I shoved at him and another grip caught me around the waist, throwing me up against the wall so hard that it jarred me and I heard a scream through the red haze.

I spun around and lunged for the red figure that had attacked me from behind, but an unseen force slammed into me so hard that I fell to the floor and I snarled, writhing against it, trying to get up, but whatever it was somehow managed to be stronger than me and it was infuriating. I snapped my fangs and snarled, writhing and trying to roll away from the weight on top of me, but to no avail.

I heard voices around me, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. All I heard were the angry tones on two of the voices, and... sobbing from the third. I had no idea what was going on anymore and I blinked rapidly, vision flashing from red to normal, then back again. Every time my vision returned to normal, I could pick up bits and pieces of what was being said.

"... bad trip, is what it is... supposed to know it would do this... anxiety... understatement... shut up... crying... cage..." Panic rushed through me and I writhed harder, fighting against the weight on top of me as it applied more pressure. My head felt like it was about to explode and I screamed in pain, clawing at the floor beneath me. The voices rose, higher and higher, angerier and angrier.

Then something cracked, and everything went dark.